The Ticking Time Bomb
by Santoryuu-Zoro
Summary: While out at sea, Zoro suddenly falls ill, but no knows why, or with what. Will they be able to figure it out before it's too late, or will the sickness make them watch another loved one die?
1. The Fatal Sneeze

**NOTE: Re-written**

The Straw Hats were scared. Scared of Chopper that is. Since they had approached the flu season, Chopper had become exceedingly paranoid, and just one little sneeze could lead to him start checking your forehead, blood pressure, throat, sinuses, poke you with needles... anything that came to mind. Normally they wouldn't be that worried, but Luffy had been messing in the kitchen...

/Flashback\

"Ahahaha!" laughed Luffy in excitement. All the floors and the ship had been washed that morning, and were horribly fun to slide on; especially on a cloth sack. Unfortunately, this sack was one that was chock-full of black pepper.

Luffy had deemed the kitchen the best place for sliding. The galley door swung open, and the rubber captain faced a very, very angry cook.

"What the _hell _are you doing?" he hissed dangerously. Luffy cringed, jumped to his feet and, grabbing the bag of pepper like it was his life support, ran out the door.

"Oi, oi, come back with that!" Sanji bellowed after him. At this point Luffy was in the air by the mast, thinking of throwing it back, but then, because of his fixed grip...it popped.

/End Flashback\

There was pepper in the air, and every crew member was trying as hard as they could to keep out this "deadly mineral."

"Chopper, stop running around like that; you'll give yourself a heart attack." said Nami from her chair. Chopper had indeed been running around the ship, inspecting each crew members as he passed, but at Nami's words, he stopped in his tracks with a look of horror on his face.

"Really?!?!?"

"Yes, now calm down." Chopper squealed in panic and started to give himself CPR. His useless actions were stopped though, by the sound he'd been looking for.

A crew member sneezed.

He looked around frantically and saw Zoro rubbing his nose. They made eye contact and Zoro's eyes widened.

"Shit."

And then the chase broke out, with Zoro running as fast as he could with Chopper hot on his heels.

"Holy hell, Chopper! I'm not sick! It's the stupid pepper!" he yelled behind him, "Just. The. Pepper!"

"Then prove it! Let me check you!"

"Hell no!" Just before he passed the mast on their 2 round, Chopper tackled him with sprint point. There was a scuffle, but it ended with Zoro trapped under Chopper's Heavy Point. He struggled to no avail.

"Stop moving Zoro!" said Chopper, aggravated that he couldn't check Zoro's blood pressure.

"No, dammit." Chopper sighed and held his finger on a point on his neck until Zoro went limp.

"Damn..." he mumbled.

Chopper went on with his job and check down different things on his checklist:

--------------------

Heart rate: fast

Blood pressure: Normal

Sinuses: Fine

Throat: Fine

Forehead: Hot

Nose: Somewhat clear

Back: No rash

Front: No rash

Eyes: Normal reaction

Reflexes: Inhuman

Ears: Clean

Hair: Intact Note to self: Possibly find out source of Green hair(Real or Dyed?)

Bleeding or Bruising: No

-----------------------

And his list went on, but mostly everything fine.

"Well, Zoro. You've got a fever, and a fast heart rate."

"Yeah, 'cause I was running for my life. I got sweaty."

"True, but that wouldn't affect your temperature. I'm gonna try you with a thermometer." And he shoved the little glass stick into Zoro's mouth. He grumbled, unable to move.

The door to the kitchen burst open.

"Dinner is ready for Nami-Swaaaaan! and you shit heads. Get you asses in here." Sanji yelled from his clean galley, and he walked back in, his strut back in his step.

"Don't take that out of your mouth, Zoro." Chopper commanded.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to." he snapped.

"Oh, right." He activated Heavy Point again and picked him up. "It should wear off soon." And he walked into the kitchen with Zoro slung over uncomfortably over his shoulder.

Sanji glanced at him with one eye.

"Oi, what's wrong with you, shit-head?" he asked, not actually caring about the answer.

"Blame Chopper. He cheated by using a pressure point and now I can't really move and he's stuck with this _mad_ idea that I'm sick." Chopper scowled yanked the thermometer out of Zoro's mouth.

"Well, now we can see if you're right or not." He shot back. Looking down at the thermometer, he froze.

"What?" Everyone asked, trying to get a look at the thermometer.

"104.3" he replied quietly, still in shock

"That's not right." urged Zoro.

Chopper looked at him, worried.

"Say that again, Zoro." Zoro looked perplexed, but obliged.

"Thacht's...not..righ..."His words were slurred and his eye's were slightly unfocused. Everyone exchanged worried looks.

"Zoro you are not okay." said Chopper, scared at not knowing what was happening to his nakama,"But this is no flu."

Zoro started to shake,and then he leaned over and vomited. Nami screamed/squealed and everyone stood up, alarmed. Zoro's vomit was mixed with blood, and soon the only thing coming out of his mouth was that red liquid. He gave one last horrible, hacking cough and leaned against the wall that was next to where he was sitting. Chopper rushed over to Zoro who was panting slightly.

"Zoro, Zoro, are you with me?" he asked frantically. There was no response. Zoro's eyes rolled into the back of his head, eyelids closing and he went limp.

"Zoro!"


	2. The Freezing Hot Head

**Thanks so much for reviewing! Rising Solstice, you are one crazy person! Thanks also to MewPirate, luckyblackcat13, and Heihachi-Katayama! You guys rock!! Okay, I know I updated pretty fast, but this is not my standard. Just to let you know. I normally take longer than this so just be forewarned. Well, here you go, next chapter!**

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He turned to the rest of his nakama. "We have to get him to the medical bay, but as carefully as possible." he told them."Here, Sanji help me. Grab his feet." They could tell he was trying very hard to stay calm, and Sanji hurried over to assist him. 

"1, 2, 3." and they picked him and slowly carried him out and down the stairs to Chopper's room. Nami grabbed the door and pulled it open so they could get inside. Zoro's face was turning a little pale and his breathing was rasped. Right after they laid him down on the bed, he immediately started seizing.

"Oi, held me hold him down!" Chopper yelled to Sanji, and then turned to Nami," Nami, above my desk are some vials, bring me the one on the far right." She ran over to the shelf and grabbed and little bottle filled with clear liquid and hurriedly brought it back to Chopper who poured some of it into a syringe. This he jammed into Zoro's arm and his movements slowed and finally stopped. Sanji and Chopper were panting slightly and Zoro lay as still as he was before.

"What...the hell...was that?" asked Sanji between pants.

"He had a seizure." sighed Chopper, returning to Brain Point," I have no idea why, but for now his condition's not stable, I need to watch him. Can you fetch me some cold towels? I'm gonna try to reduce his fever and if that doesn't work than we might have to soak him in an ice bath."

"That would use up all our ice!" complained Nami, and Chopper turned to her, angry.

"Would you rather lose all your ice, or your nakama?" She looked at the ground, ashamed.

"Right...sorry."

"Don't be sorry, just get me the towels!!" Nami and Sanji nodded and hurried out of the room right before Luffy and Usopp barged in.

"What the hell's wrong with Zoro?" They cried in unison, terror etched all over their face. Chopper looked sad.

"I don't know..." Luffy and Usopp's faces dropped too. Just then, Sanji and Nami scuttled back in, the cold pieces of cloth in hand. Chopper grabbed one and placed it on his forhead, using another to wipe the sweat off of Zoro's face. They all just stood, watching him in silence. Till they heard a sneeze. Heads whipped around until they spotted Usopp rubbing his nose and a look of terror came over Chopper's face.

"Shit, that was pepper this time, really!" And he held up little ball and a pepper shaker, " I was passing the time!" Chopper glared at him,

"Don't scare me like that, dammit!!" he cried. Nami put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, just calm down Chopper," she said soothingly, petting his furry back, "Just concentrate on Zoro." Chopper looked up at her, a grateful smile on his face, and he turned back to Zoro, serious again.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A couple hours passed and Chopper only managed to get Zoro's temperature down a degree. He was now hot and sweaty, breathing short, ragged breaths, twitching slightly every now and then.

"Nami, get the ice in the tub. Sanji, fill it slightly with cold water, we need to soak him." They nodded, worriedly but understandingly, and they hurried out of the room to do their respective jobs. Luffy had been sitting by Zoro's side the whole time, his hands clutching his knees as he watched his first mate suffer from some unknown sickness. Usopp could see the hurt in his eyes and understood completely. It had been hard watching Kaya grown up, sickly, weak, and pale, stuck in her parents house, only aided by the devious Kuro that would eventually try to kill her. Except this time was different. Usopp didn't have to constantly see her in that pitiful form, and she only was weak and depressed. She wasn't going to die.

Zoro, however, they didn't know. He was running a high fever and vomiting blood; seizing and what not. He was scared, not that he wanted to admit of course, but he knew the others were too. The roles had been switched. Normally it was Zoro saving the crew, but now it was there time to save him. Save him from what? Well, that was the problem. He looked back at Luffy who was still determined to keep his eyes on Zoro, as if he thought he could heal him just by staring. Suddenly the door banged open and caused even Luffy to advert his gaze so he could see what was going on. Sanji had arrived to inform them that the bath was ready and hurried over when Chopper beckoned him.

Together, they lifted Zoro by his head and feet and carried him out the door and into the bathroom. Nami saw them and immediately stepped out of the way so they could engorge him in the tub's icy depths. Gently they lowered him in, already managing to remove his shirt and pants, leaving him only in his jet black boxers.

**Stupid ending I know. Hopefully I'll manage to update soon! **


	3. A Disturbing Diagnosis

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**Yay! Thanks everyone for the reviews! I'm sorry if I didn't get to tell you personally, but I did read the review and it made me happy **

After about a half an hour in the bath, Zoro's fever had been reduced to 101.3. It was working and they were happy. Zoro had slightly woken up and seemed to be a little conscious of the world around him, but he was still out of it. But then his lips started turning blue and he started shivering. Chopper advised that they take him out, seeing that the cold for a longer period of time wouldn't be good, and his fever was low enough to be managable. Sanji agreed and they carried him to the medical bay once again.

After laying him down, Sanji noticed something," Hey, what's this?" he asked, pointing to Zoro's abdomen. Chopper looked to where he was pointing and found that Zoro's abdomen had a bandage around it. They must not have noticed it when they had stripped him of his clothing, as they weren't really paying close attention.

"What could this be from?" Chopper asked him, totally perplexed at how this injury suddenly appeared on the swordsman and have him not notice it after they had some battle.

"They last battle we've had was that one with the marines at Port Soveriernge. But those guys sucked so much Marimo couldn't have gotten something like this, from them. I saw him blast them all away."

"He could have gotten something when he wandered off." Put in Usopp.

"That's a good idea. For some reason, my instincts tell me that this wasn't from a human. " He hopped off the little chair he had been standing on and bounced over to his book shelf, pulling out a very thick one and he placed it on the ground. Sanji, Nami, and Usopp also went over to see what he was doing. Luffy had continued to watch Zoro. He flicked through the pages, one by one with no signs of stopping.

Eventually, Sanji left but came back with snacks, which they all greatly appreciated. Suddenly Chopper jumped, making everybody else jump and causing the tray of snacks to spill.

"I found it!!" he cried, jumping up and down.

"What is it?" asked Nami, eagerly peering over at the book and Chopper pointed at page 579.

"It's the-" He stopped and looked at the other page in confusion. "No, it's this one...No, this one." He looked back and forth at the two pages, reading each carefully.

"Oh no!" He squealed,"There are two thing it could be. The Sorvetteo lash bug, or the Diamonia lash bug. So far, Zoro has presented the symptoms that they both share, so I don't know which one it is. They have seperate antidotes."

"Why not give him both?" asked Usopp.

"If you give him the wrong one, he's toast. We have to be absolutely sure. The only symptom that is different are the ones that the infectee shows before death. The Diamonia lash bug's last one is that he'll jerk a lot and then the cut will bleed ten times more than normal. If it's the Sorvetteo, he'll laps into cardiac arrest. I don't have the anti-venom prepared, but I'll make it. We'll have to be watching him at all times."

"What's cardiac arrest?" asked Luffy from his corner.

"In Luffy terms, he dies. His heart stops." He turned back to the others."He _can_ be brought back though. We'll need 3 people on watch at all times. We need one for each venom, and one for the clima tact." Nami looked confused.

"Why do we need my Clima Tact?"

"You have that thunder thing on it right?"

"Ya..."

"The shock could get Zoro's heart going if it is the Sorvetteo."

"What are we going to do if it's the Diamonia?" asked Usopp.

"Well, I guess we'd have to stem the flow of blood and hope for the best." The crew looked a little put out at this.

"Nami, when's the nearest island?"

"It's about an hour away, why?" Chopper picked the book up and placed it on his desk.

"I need to get a few more ingredients, but it shouldn't harm Zoro. He still has about a week." He took out little pieces of paper and drew a couple things on them, then handed them to the crew members. "I'm gonna need these so I need you to help me find them."

They took their pieces of paper and nodded.

"I want to come with you," said a voice from behind them, making them all jump.

"Z-Zoro!"squealed Chopper, and indeed Zoro was sitting up in bed, watching them. "You can't! You're still sick!"

"I'm fine!" He countered and Chopper looked sceptical."Ok, well, not _fine_ but I can walk around." He stood up and walked a few paces perfectly, even though the world inside his head was spinning."See? If I've still got a week left, this won't make any difference, right? I need air once in a while to y'know."

The crew guessed he was pretty oblivious to the events that had happened to him a while ago.

"Chopper, just let him go. He's gonna get out either way." said Nami, spinning her Clima Tact in front of her.

"I-but-he-."He sighed."Fine, but if anything goes wrong it won't happen again, and you're coming with me." Zoro grumbled but agreed with the terms.


	4. Pain and Gain

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**You guys rock! The reviews make me so happy!! **

The island was relatively big and the towns were packed with people who were out for their daily shopping trip. I style of clothing had about the same look as the Arabastian garb, but it had a bit of a more 'modern' look. The group had split up, Chopper and Zoro had gone off in some direction, Nami and Luffy went off to look for their ingredient and food, and Sanji swaggled off by himself, leaving Usopp alone on the ship. A couple of times, Chopper had to push Zoro in the right direction because he kept walking the wrong way.

Zoro wasn't attempting to get a way from Chopper, well, he wasn't trying. His legs just told him to go a certain direction and he obliged. Not knowing where they were actually going added to this as Chopper wasn't quite sure either. He just claimed _I know it's this way!_ Zoro didn't really believe him but it was better that being stuck on the ship.

Suddenly Chopper squealed and turned Zoro to the right.

"There it is! I see it!" Zoro looked in front of him to see a small little shop that an old man was sweeping outside of. When he caught a glimpse of them he hurried back inside. When they approached it, the man stepped into view, waving. Chopper smiled at him.

"Hi! Can I get a pound of Panalaio, a pound of Hervia, one Soverob root, and a jar of Lispin?" He asked.

The man cocked his head to the side and looked at him blankly. Chopper repeated himself, thinking the old man didn't hear him. Again, he didn't respond with anything other than that blank stare.

"Sono spiacente, io non conosco che cosa state dicendo." This time it was Chopper's turn to stare, equally unable to understand the other. Zoro noted the man's words and then spoke to him.

"Posso ottenere una libbra di Panalaio, una libbra di Hervia, una radice di Soverob e un vaso di Lispin?" The shopkeepers face suddenly lit with understanding and happiness, before nodded and running into the back of his shop. Chopper just stared, wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Wha-You-talking..." His voice trailed off. "What was that?" Zoro just glanced at him.

"An order for Panalaio, Hervia, Soverob, and Lispin."

"No, I mean, like...where'd you learn that?"

"You have to learn to survive out in this world. I just kinda...picked it up...?" Chopper could tell he was lying about something but didn't push him any further. Instead, he just gazed at him with admiration.

"So cool!!" Zoro shifted uncomfortably under his watch. He didn't appreciate being stared at and he glared back.

"Stop it." Chopper's gaze immediately fell and he turned back to the old shop keeper who was coming back, his hands full with an assortment of different herbs. He dumped them into Zoro's unready arms and Zoro almost dropped them.

"Grazie." he replied, bowing slightly. The old man bowed back, a little more enthusiastic.

"Il vostro benvenuto, viene prego ancora!" Zoro tapped Chopper on the shoulder and motioned for him to come. Still a bit flustered, the little doctor tripped his way over to where the swordsman was now walking.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Nami was ready to snap. During the whole time they had been out, Luffy had done nothing but jump around her, loudly complaining about how hungry he was and why he deserved some meat at the moment, all of which Nami disagreed with.

"Naaamiiii ---We haven't eaten anything!!" He whined once again, this time pouting in an effort to lure her in with cuteness. She glared at him, teeth bared and a sharp as a sharks.

"Cut it out" She growled, and Luffy shrunk down, scared. But then suddenly he stood back up, looking around wildly.

"What?" asked Nami.

"Did you hear that?" he asked her. Nami listened for a moment, but shook her head. Luffy was even more excited now.

"There! They're calling us! It's Chopper and Zoro! AI- ZORO, CHOPPER" he cried, waving. Chopper waved back, equally as frantic and Zoro just followed him, herbs in hand and head down.

"Did you get the mushroom?" asked Chopper hopefully. Luffy grinned, pulling out a purple and gray mushroom, about the size of his eye ball and handed it to Chopper.

"This one?"

"Perfect. Zoro and I got some more things and it was really cool 'cause-"Zoro secretly kicked him in the back and Chopper immediately shut up.

"What was cool Chopper?" asked Nami. Chopper shook his head frantically, not wanting to anger the swordsman by telling something he didn't want told.

"Nothing, nothing. We better find Sanji before it gets to late." Nami nodded.

"The log pose is already set so we can move out at anytime."

Just as they were deciding to split up in different directions, non other than Sanji himself came swantering over. His hands were full with shopping bags, and those were full to bursting with food. Just one glance and Luffy was drooling a lake. Sanji respectfully whacked him on the head and told him that if he touched ANY of the food, he wouldn't get dinner. This immediately put a brake on Luffy's smile. Zoro would have laughed at his captain's idiocy, but his head was pounding and he couldn't find the strength.

As they headed back to the ship, Nami busily told Sanji about how his island's shape was so interesting and everyone failed to notice that there was something wrong with their party. After asking Zoro a question and receiving to answer, Nami decided to look back, only to see Zoro crouched one the ground behind them. They ran over and being closer they could see that Zoro's hands were furiously gripping his head and his teeth were clenched.

"Zoro, Zoro! What's wrong?" Chopper asked, extremely worried. Zoro winced and clutched his head harder.

"Don't. Speak. So loud. Head. Killing. Me." He manged to spit out. Chopper looked at Zoro just as his eyes rolled back once again and he collapsed, twitching.

"Luffy!" yelled Chopper, "You aren't holding anything, help me with Zoro!" Luffy nodded, now serious.

**ya, well. That's it. For this chapter anyway. Oh, for the different language, I just used an online translator, I don't know any languages. See if you know what language it is! Also try to guess which bug is infecting Zoro!**

** Stuff. OH I FORGOT MY DISCLAiMER!!: I don't own One Piece! Ok, there we go. **


	5. Death by Nakama

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** A lot of people got it right! It was Italian! It also makes me happy that you reviewed and are intrigued about where Zoro learned it. Sorry, but that's coming in my next fanfic, so I guess you'll have to wait, sorry. It's too bad only ONE person tried to guess Zoro's lash bug. -.-. Oh well. Truthfully, I haven't decided yet. I'm making it up as I go along XP. **

After being lifted in Luffy and Chopper's arms, Zoro suddenly jerked awake and clutched his head again. Sanji and Nami ran along side them, worried expressions claiming their faces again. Sanji failed pretty miserably in hiding his. No matter if you fool yourself into hating someone, nakama are nakama, so deep down you really care.

Zoro had endured more injuries than you could count, but his face never really showed if he was in agony or not. This however, burned through and practically felt like like someone was slowly slicing through his head with a heated sword, accompanied by a razored drill. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't focus on anything else, like he normally did when he was in any sort of pain. Slowly, he cracked open an eyelid and glanced up. Chopper and Luffy were carrying him and were running like mad. Another stab of pain clashed in his head, causing his vision to blur and he had to bite down to restrain a scream.

Chopper glanced at him worriedly. Then he noticed Zoro's hand. It was clenched in a fist and was slowly oozing blood because of how hard Zoro's nails were digging into the skin. Chopper winced inwardly.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

They clambered aboard the Going Merry and Usopp just stared at them from his spot on the deck.

"What the..?

Nami smacked him in the head, hard.

"Don't just stare! Help!"

Alarmed, he scrambled to his feet and ran over to open the door to the medical bay for Luffy and Chopper. They laid Zoro down on the bed. As soon as his head touched it, he cried out in pain. It was the worst thing he had ever felt, and he'd been through a lot. None of his injuries were in comparison to this. He slammed his fist down on the bed and soon found him self clutching the edge of it like it was his life line.

"Chopper," cried Nami, "Can't you do anything?" Chopper shook his head sadly, tears almost welling up in his eyes.

"I don't have anything for pain. The migraine will just have to subside on it's own, but I don't know how long that will be. Hopefully it will end soon."

"Damn...it..." Zoro managed to choke out through gritted teeth. "...Can't...lose...to the...pain...Promised..."

Sanji cocked his head, confused.

"What the hell is he talking about? Promised? Promised what?" Zoro gave another muffled cry, but then his whole body seemed to relax and his hand fell limply at his side. His eyes were blank and he just stared at the ceiling.

"She didn't want to die. She had to live. I shouldn't be carrying her sword. It's supposed to be in her possession. I promised I'd never lose again, even to any sort of emotion or over-whelming thought." Even his voice was black and monotone as he continued talking, "I can't die now. We swore. We...swore...Wado..."

His eyes grew wild and a grin spread over his face.

"But I won't fail," Zoro's voice was louder now, emotion placed back into him and he continued on, strangely happy. "Mihawk...will _die_." And as he filled the last word with so much blood lust, the whole crew shivered and Usopp took a step back. "His blood will run thick on my sword as will anyone else's who gets in my way...My dream will be fulfilled!"

He was laughing now, but no just in some hearty laugh like he would use when something funny would happen. It was an evil, deranged laugh, crazy and menacing. They were all staring now, slack jawed and terrified. Zoro's form jerked and he sat up quickly.

"No one...no one...will _get in my way!!_" He sprang up and grabbed one of his swords from next to his bed. Brandishing it crazily, he charged at Nami, ready to swing it down on her. A shoe connected with his side as he was roughly kicked away by Sanji and crashed into the nearby wall.

"Chopper!" Sanji cried at the terrified little doctor, "What the hell is going ON?"

"H-he's delusional! It's the next symptom! I-I don't know how to stop it!" He was now bouncing up and down on the spot, sweat trickling down his brown fur. "He could kill us if we don't do anything!!" Zoro slowly stood up and wiped the blood away from his mouth and help out his sword again.

"Quick! Get out of the room!" alerted Nami and Usopp flung open the door, barreling out of it, followed by the other Mugiwara's, including Zoro.

As soon as they were out, Sanji guarded Nami and Chopper, and Luffy just got his space. Usopp ran up near the galley and dove head first into the mikan groves. Forgetting the danger, Sanji turned and yelled at him. "Get out here and fight!" But couldn't say anymore as Zoro came rushing at him. For a moment it just seemed like their average fight, but then when Zoro swung his sword in the way that could produce a fatal blow, Sanji knew it was on.

Sanji spun on his hand, feet swinging out in an attempt to hit Zoro, but Zoro did a back handspring, dodging it. The swordsman jumped into the air and slashed his sword, sending one of his flying attacks at the dizzy cook. Only managing to avoid a little bit, the rest hit his side, ripping his shirt and some of the skin beneath it. He hit the ground hard and rolled a few feet.

"Sanji!" cried Nami, from her hiding spot. Getting up slowly, Sanji waved his hand,"I'm fine Nami-san. We need to lure him of the ship or else he'll destroy that along with us!" She nodded and whispered to Chopper who motioned to Usopp who whispered in Luffy's ear. Once Sanji had brushed himself off, he leapt off the side and yelled,

"GO!" The rest of the charged off the ship in pursuit of Sanji, Zoro not to far behind.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**Well, that's it. Till next chapter! I hope you review! I'm hoping for maybe 3 reviews before I post the next chap. Sorry it took so long. I was busy; homework and other crap. I hope the story doesn't walk away from what you were hoping or expecting. You can totally give me suggestions and feedback and stuff! It would be appreciated! Don't worry, I won't bite. So...yup. Go do what you have to do, and remember that reviews make the world spin faster!!! At least my world.**

**_ santoryuu-zoro _**

**_ P.S_ Has anyone read the new One Piece chapters? At least 485?? I won't give anything away if you haven't but you NEED to read 485 if you haven't. If you have, tell me!!!  
**  



	6. Severed Soul

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** Sorry for the really long wait. I got banned from the computer so I couldn't really do anything and my inspiration was kinda lacking on this chapter. I hope it turned out okay. I really appreciate the reviews! Though I never get any more until I update... Well, I guess that could be motivation to update then. But how do I get myself into such messes? I've never really done a fight scene before, but here's my attempt:**

Once they had a clear area, they stopped and turned to face Zoro. He was still swinging his sword crazily in the air and was slowly coming nearer. The slow saunter turned into a run and soon he was charging at Usopp, katana held high. In just one swipe, and a shout, a blast of swirling 'ki' hit Usopp right in the chest, sending him flying across the clearing.

"Usopp!" cried Nami as she watched him hit the ground with force. Rolling a few feet, he came to a stop, motionless. Luffy roared with anger and sent a punch flying headlong in Zoro's direction. With only his own hand, Zoro caught the punch, his face expressionless. He pulled on it hard and flung Luffy over his head and to the ground behind him.

"If we can get the sword away from him, we might be able to stop him!" cried Nami to the others, "He's a swordsman after all!"

Getting up from the ground, Luffy nodded. Nami pulled out her Clima-Tact and snapped it together. _Metal conducts electricity...Zoro's strong...He won't be too hurt._ She concluded in her mind. Chopper rushed past her and started prancing around Zoro.

"I'll distract him, do it!" he yelled back and Nami nodded. _Cool ball._ A blue bubble sprung from the end of the stick. _Heat ball._ Now it was the red ball's turn to come rushing forth, and soon a mixture of blue and red was flying into the sky. As the dark, stormy cloud appeared over Zoro's head, she snapped her staff back together and shot a bright yellow orb into the sky, straight at the cloud.

"Thunder Tempo!"

It buzzed and a bolt of lightning shot down on to Zoro, electrocuting him. His teeth clenched in pain, but it only made him grip his sword tighter.

"Damn..." She cursed. It didn't work. But just then, Zoro's hand released his sword and he fell to the ground. Chopper cheered.

"You did it Nami! You stopped him!" the little reindeer cried. Sanji swooned over her, but Nami brushed it away.

"We're not done yet." She was right. Just as they had started thinking they had won, Zoro got back up. Before he was able to reach for his sword, Sanji kicked it away. Glancing at Zoro, he noticed that the swordsman's face was consumed with rage.

"Don't. Kick. That. Sword!" Zoro lashed out his fist and it connected with Sanji's ankle, and he gasped in pain, feeling something snap. He fell to the ground and Zoro struck him again, sending him rolling away. Nami ran to him and Chopper charged at him,

"Jump Point!" His legs grew thin and he leaped above Zoro, transforming his small antlers into huge, spiked killing machines.

"Horn point!" He tumbled down and soon he was a spikey blur. When he connected with Zoro's chest, he heard the swordsman gasp in pain.Unceremoniously, he fell to the ground, a couple small puncture wounds were scattered across his chest. Chopper got to his feet and sprinted as fast as he could towards Zoro's lonely sword. Grabbing the white hilt in his mouth, he ran back to where is Usopp lay.

The marksman was breathing heavily. He dropped the sword and studied him closely. When closer examined, the wound wasn't too deep. He sighed in relief. It didn't last long. Suddenly, he fell forward, a sharp pain went through his back. From the hard ground, Chopper managed to turn his head to look above him. Towering over him, with a bloodied sword, was Zoro. Grinning menacingly, he walked away, just as Chopper's world turned black.

Zoro slid the sword on the grass, ridding it of Chopper's blood. Then he turned to look up to see Luffy fist clenched in his other hand, pure rage in his eyes.

"Wanna have a go?" he asked Luffy, barring his teeth. Then he slid his sword behind him and heard a gasp of pain. Luffy looked behind Zoro to see Nami with her Clima Tact held aloft, and Zoro's katana covered in her blood. Slowly, the navigator fell to the ground, dying the grass around her red.

Zoro chuckled, licking some of the blood of his sword, "Now we won't have and distractions. Just tell your stupid cook to stop wriggling around."

"Sanji," said Luffy to his cook, not removing his eyes from Zoro, "Don't move." Sanji had been struggling to get up, and opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again before he said anything.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy pulled back his right arm and sent it flying at Zoro with an amazing speed. Once again, however, it was caught just as easily as Zoro held up his right hand and let the punch land in it. His hair and the grass behind him was blown backward from the force of the swing, but the rest of the swordsman didn't budge even and inch.

"Is that _really_ all you've got?" he taunted, raising an eyebrow. Luffy barred his teeth and attempted to pull his arm back, but Zoro was holding it firmly. He tugged on it firmly and Zoro unexpectedly let it go, causing the rubber captain to fall backward. He sprang back up, but only to see that Zoro was no longer where he once was. He looked around wildly, until his felt something cold against his neck. Zoro had some how appeared right behind him, and was now holding his katana against his neck.

Sanji cursed inwardly. _How the hell did he get there?_ Luffy seemed to be thinking the same thing, but had not as much time to ponder the question since he needed to move to avoid getting killed.

Managing to roll away with only a small scratch, he turned to Zoro, his eyes hinting sadness.

"Why Zoro? Why did you do this? We're your friends! We're your _nakama!_"

The swordsman disappeared again, this time reappearing right in front of Luffy. Before he had time to react, Zoro had placed on hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. A sharp jolt of pain ran through his stomach as Zoro slid his katana into his rubbery body. Luffy's eyes pleaded to Zoro, but Zoro's remained cold. The stab burned and hurt, but Zoro's next words stung worse than anything he had ever felt in his life, and could have pierced his soul right then and there. The sword was pulled out and Luffy slowly fell, keeping a blurry eye contact.

"I have no nakama."

**I hope that didn't suck to terribly. Please review! They encourage me to work on another chapter! **


	7. An Empty Mind

**I don't own One Piece**

* * *

**Well, it seemed that no one liked the last chapter...I'm sorry for the disappointment...**

**--Goes over into corner and curls up into a fetal position-- Just read the chapter...**

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Sanji couldn't move even if his leg allowed it. The words that had emitted from Zoro's mouth were unlike anything he had even imagined would come from him. Zoro had matched every command that Luffy had given him without question. Nakama were a huge thing to Zoro, who had always done his all to save them from any impending doom. Nothing Zoro had just done reflected that. He'd massacred his nakama; even his captain. And there he was. Just standing there, looking down at his captain, an odd look playing in his eyes. Happiness? No, confusion more like. Possibly just blank. In Zoro's dark eyes it could be hard to tell.

The swordsman's head turned in Sanji's direction and they locked eyes. However blank his eyes may be, they still burned into Sanji's skull as they stared at each other. The cook felt an odd feeling in his stomach, but couldn't place what it was. It was telling him to do something, trying to pull him off the ground.

But then, in just one split second when Zoro blinked, Sanji found his body charging towards him, the pain in his ankle forgotten. Zoro's reaction was delayed and he didn't move. His eyes slightly widened, but that was it. Sanji pulled back his left fist and _slammed_ it into Zoro's face. As Zoro rolled backward from the force of the punch, it was only then when Sanji realized what he had done. He hadn't kicked his crew mate, and it wasn't because he was injured. The feeling in his stomach and in the back of his mind had told him that swinging out his foot wouldn't have the same effect.

He stood there, panting with his fists now clenched at his side and shaking with fury. Zoro slowly stood up but made no move to retaliate. He put his hand to where Sanji had struck him, dazed and confused. He looked at his captain and female crew member who were both lying in a puddle of their own blood. Then to Chopper who had fallen on top of Usopp, then back to Sanji. Then, as if another electric current from the Clima-Tact had hit him head on, he suddenly realized what was going on.

"Sanji..." He even used his name. "What...what happened here?"

Sanji scoffed, "What do you mean what happened? _You_ happened."

"What are you-"

"You were killing them, you shitty swordsman! Not even a care in the world! Massacring your own nakama!"

Zoro stood there, shocked and stunned. It couldn't be true...he would never- But the proof was there. His nakama, minus Sanji, were unmoving on the ground, and he was holding his Wado, fresh, warm blood coating it. And he could smell it, the strongest was Luffy's blood, but deeper down he could tell that his other companions blood was on his sword and in the air. He lifted his sword and Sanji took a step back, in case he was going to strike. Zoro looked at it for a couple moments, and once again did something that Sanji could never imagine.

The swordsman placed the tip of the sword at the top of his scar, and in one quick motion, ripped open his old scar. Sanji gaped, astounded, his brain wasn't taking in what he saw. Zoro's blood fell to the ground and so did he, knees first, then the rest of him was sent crashing to the ground.

"Z-Zoro!" the cook rushed forward an sat down by his sick nakama. Flipping him over showed how much blood was flowing free through his skin. Sanji quickly scanned the area for anything he could use as a bandage. _Choppers Bag!_ It always had medical items in it, it would surely have bandages. He rushed over to the reindeer a knelt so he could open the bag. Chopper stirred.

"S-Sanji?" Part of Sanj's heart lifted. He knew that they weren't dead, they'd taken to much worse, but he still could worry.

"Chopper! I need some bandages from your bag." Chopper gingerly sat up.

"Are you hurt?"

"Ye-No. It's...Zoro. He' s the worst." Chopper looked over and gasped at how much blood matted his skin, causing him to stand up and cant over, trying to ignore his own stab wound. When he reached him, he took off his bag and grabbed a couple rolls of bandages, flinging them at Sanji.

"Take these and get the others!" He nodded and ran in the direction of Nami and Luffy. Wiping away what blood he could, it was revealed to Chopper where the flow was coming from. It was a an clean cut, but no one else had something sharp to do it with. It was self-inflicted, Chopper gasped, as realization hit him. But why had he done it?

"Sanji!" He called out, "We need to bring everybody back to the ship! Can you carry Nami and Usopp?"

Sanji's eyes turned to hearts for a second, as he was asked to carry Nami, and nodded. He slung Usopp over his shoulder and lifted Nami bridal style. Combined it was fairly heavy, but he would manage, and he definitely would not drop Nami. As Chopper activated Heavy Point and held his two in basically the same position(although he kept Zoro a little more straight), they headed back across the bloodied field in the direction of their ship.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The unconscious Straw Hat's were carefully laid down in Chopper's medical bay, which now included only Usopp, Luffy, and Zoro. To Sanji's great delight, Nami had woken up in his arms, but was greeted by a fist in his face from her. Sanji rejected all medical treatment for the moment, arguing that his broken leg wasn't going to kill him anytime soon, but bleeding holes in the body might.

Nami and Sanji both helped Chopper by bandaging Usopp and Luffy's wounds while he tended to Zoro. Every stitch was cleanly sliced through and so was any part of healed flesh. Securing the wound was tricky since blood kept seeping through and covering the part he was working on. He had to constantly wipe away at it while holding the needle in the other. Nami was still in shock at what had happened, and Sanji, even though he wouldn't admit it, was too. Sanji had seen what happened the first time Zoro's chest was split open like that and how it had made him sick later.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**I didn't know how to end this... but seeing the reviews it doesn't seem like anyone cares how it is anymore... sorry it was crappy... have a good day...**


	8. A Broken Mind

**I don't own One Piece**

* * *

**Well, there had been people saying how they didn't like the idea of Zoro trying to kill his nakama and they just like Zoro getting taken care of by the crew. I thank all you, though! It makes me feel so comforted that people support me in this fic. Sorry for the wait, though. I'm working on it, but I can be kinda slow doing so. Please actually read the thick paragraphs. They're important.  
**

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The sad doctor walked out of his patients room, closing it behind him, and faced his other crew members.

"Well?" said Nami. "How is he?"

Chopper looked at the ground sadly, " It's hard to say. He's not doing well heath wise. He lost a tremendous amount of blood, but he's awake."

"Then why can't we see him?" demanded Luffy.

"He doesn't want to see anyone. Even though everything that happened really wasn't his fault, his still blaming himself fully."

Luffy 'pushed up' his 'sleeves'," I don't care! I'm going in there!"

The little reindeer blocked his path, "No, Luffy! It wouldn't be good for him to deal with anymore stress! He's already really weak from blood loss and he has a fever! So pick one Luffy, saving your own state of mind or letting your nakama's crash?!"

The anger and seriousness being emitted by Chopper was strong enough for Luffy to let his hands fall to his side as he sank to the ground on his knees. Slamming his fists on the deck, he pleaded, "Just let him be okay!"

"That's why I'm here." he replied softly.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Zoro was lying on the bed with his gaze to the wall. He didn't want to do anything, he didn't want to see anyone. He refused to eat or say anything. He just slept or he stared. Nothing more. Nothing less. His body became something like an empty shell, only there for the purpose of existing. His deepening depression blamed on only himself. The worsening of his condition was laid in that category, too, half hoping/willing that his body didn't try to do anything to fight it off. He no longer cared what went on in the world, he only wished that his deeds would be undone. He was aware that his crew was fine, walking around like on any other day, but Zoro wasn't. His heart and down to his soul were scarred with the memories of what he had tried to do and what he had done to himself.

Chopper had tried to coax Zoro into accepting that it wasn't his fault, and that he shouldn't be making such a huge deal out of it, but such an attempt was left unsuccessful. Sanji brought him a fresh plate of food every meal, putting his whole soul into it, but the swordsman would only take bits and pieces and sometimes nothing at all. His skin was already a sickly pale color, but with each passing day it seemed to drain even more. His eyes were partially sunken and limbs lay limply at his side. He didn't even flinch or move by himself when Chopper came in to change his bandages. Zoro was slowly deteriorating and they had no idea of what to do.

Nami managed to make her way into the room, but realized that she actually didn't know what she'd do once she entered. Hoping that she could at least do something, she made her way over to Zoro. Even though he was turned the other way, Nami knew that Zoro knew she was in the room. She wasn't sure if he knew it, but whenever he sensed someone, his ear would subconsciously twitch. She thought it was pretty funny sometimes. Nami sat down in the chair next to Zoro's bed and crossed her legs.

"Zoro..." No answer.

"Zoro." No answer. She was tempted to yell, but resisted doing so. She didn't want to upset him further.

"Zoro, we just wanted you to know that we don't blame you in the slightest. Please get over this. You're worrying everyone! It wasn't your fault!"

The swordsman slowly raised his arm and slid it into his pocket. He pulled out a small tan envelope and handed it to her, turning only slightly in her direction. In Zoro's messy handwriting, it said 'Nami' over what looked like his crossed out name. She was about to open it, but stopped when Zoro gingerly waved his hand.

"Op...open it...ou...ou-side..." His voice was hoarse from the lack of water and usage, and seemed like it was a challenge to get out every word. His eyes finally met hers and she grudgingly obliged. She stood up from her seat and Zoro's head turned back towards the wall, closing his eyes.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The rest of the Straw Hats had been waiting on the other side of the door, waiting to her about Zoro. When the door finally opened, Nami was practically jumped by her male crew members.

"What'd he say, what'd he say!?" bugged Luffy, after Nami had shut the door.

"Shhhh!!" she hissed, "Zoro's trying to sleep!"

They all made their way into the galley so as not to disturb Zoro.

"So?" asked Usopp. Nami held up the small envelope so they could see it.

"He gave me this." Using her nail, she dug into the folding, and ripped it open. Turning it upside down, about 10 bills fell out, and so did a folded up piece of paper. Nami stared, aghast, at what she saw, and picked it up. Counting it quickly, her jaw dropped.

"What?" asked Usopp, looking at her, confused.

"T-this is 125,000 belli! He's trying to pay me back!"

"Eh?" Sanji murmured. "Where did Marimo get money?"

"Read the letter." suggested Chopper, peering at Nami through his big eyes. She picked it up and read aloud:

_Dear Mr. Roronoa,_

_Inside we have enclosed your paycheck for this month and the amount we agreed on when you donated. We hope that you will aid us again as you put in such a great effort. We also hope that you were not turned away by the unfortunate incident, as it WAS an accident. A bonus was included because of it. We also removed all of what we would have charged you for the medical attention and bandages, and hope that you do alright. Since you seem to have taken the gash on your stomach very well, we are not worried. Your blood added up to 45,000, and that was included._

_Sincerely,_

_Heolo Sagu_

_Head of Kokomaru_

Usopp could help but let out a small gasp as he read the last word, earning questioning looks from his fellow crewmembers.

"What is it Usopp-puuu?" asked Luffy turning his head up down and stuffing it in the marksman's face.

"K-Kokomaru. It's an organization that does sometimes fairly random tasks, but usually involves really hard physical labor. The supervisors are really harsh, tough thugs who even result to killing those who do something wrong, and the owner is completely oblivious. Anyone in their right mind will stay away from it unless they're really desperate. So it seems he got injured while doing something, and also donated blood to who knows what stupid organization."

Chopper quivered, "So...Zoro's cut wasn't from a lash bug?"

"Seems so, Chopper." nodded Nami, resting her head on a he propped up arm, "What does it mean?"

"What does it mean?" asked Chopper, gazing up at the rest of his crew members, his eyes shinning and threatening to explode into tears, "It means Zoro is dying. He's dying. But this time...I don't know why."

**YUP! There we go. Believe it or not, but this is my longest chapter. It may not look like it, but it's only bigger by a little bit. It would really help me if you told me what factors make this story appealing to you and ideas or suggestions are greatly welcomed! I hope nobody was OOC; please tell me if you thought they were! So, did you read the paragraphs? If you didn't...Shame on you! Go back and do so. Oh, and if you've seen the movie Iron Man, please tell me also.  
**

**Also, I feel like starting a poll. Here's the first, though this one's more like a survey:**

_Who is your favorite One Piece character and what type of fanfic do you like seeing them in? e.g: Zoro-torture, Nami-ZoNa_

Also, _what's your favorite pairing?_


	9. Painful Apology

**I don't own One Piece. Sorry for the long wait. I had stuff, y'know?... XD! 70 reviews!! I feel so HAPPY!! Now school is over I might be able to update more sooner, but I'm still not the fastest writer and I have to do it in secret 'cause my parents would flip out if they saw me on FanFiction. Jerks.**

**The results of the poll are:**

**For Favorite Character:**

**Zoro: 7 Nami: 1**

**Favorite Pairing:**

**ZoNa: 1 ZoAny: 3**

**LuNa: 1 ZoTash: 2**

**ZoUso: 1 ZoSan: 1**

**Favorite Type of Story:**

**Zoro-torture: 3**

**Zoro-sick: 1**

**Sanji sick/torture: 1**

**For me, my favorite character is Zoro! I love him to death. My fav pairing is ZoNa and ZoVi, and ZoRo is okay. I don't really like ZoroxOC, unless it's made really, really good, and I'm not that big a fan of yaoi. No offense to those who like it. I have nothing against it, it's just not my type. I LOVE Zoro-Torture/Sick obviously, and any kind of Zoro-angst, especially when the crew worries. I don't know why they have to worry. They just do. OKAY! Sorry for the author's note. But...here's the chapter! Oh! One more thing, to answer someone's question: Q: How much time had passed since Zoro cut himself open? A: Currently it's been about 6 days. Oh, and it was mentioned that it was a bit surprising that Luffy hadn't talked to Zoro after the incident. Zoro didn't want to see anyone, and Chopper didn't want to cause him any distress so he hardly let anyone in. Luffy tried of course, but failed.**

* * *

Once again, the mood was dark and depressed since the swordsman became ill. Nami would start crying every time she looked at the money that Zoro had earned for her, and Sanji helped comfort her, but steered away from his eccentric dances. Luffy and Usopp would sit in a corner together, occasionally accompanied by Chopper when he wasn't with Zoro, and would half-heartedly mutter jokes to each other that only resulted in a forced snicker.

Apart from Zoro's depression, the swordsman's condition continued to decrease. He had a fever with cold sweats, and every couple hours he would throw up what little amount of food he was taking in. His breathing was short and ragged, and every so often his heart would skip a beat.

Everything that Chopper had thought and done was suddenly revealed as utterly and completely irrelevant, and it had made the little doctor shut himself in a room with his book, trying to gain lost time and figure out what was wrong.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It was meal time and Chopper was sobbing quietly, tears falling into his food. Even one cracking heart made all the others fall, and it was abnormally silent at the table. Nami gently wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her chest, stroking his fur softly.

"It'll be alright Chopper. He'll get better somehow." But she couldn't even make her whole heart believe it.

"Bu-but...I can't cure all disease if I-I can't even cure Zoro.../sob/ It's my dream; my ambition...I promised..."

"You're the best doctor we know, Chopper," added Usopp, comfortingly. Sanji nodded.

"We'll find a way, Chopper. We'll find a way..." Nami now realized that she too was crying, her tears soaking the little reindeer's hat, as his soaked her shirt.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the galley door creaked open, and a figure stood in the doorway.

"What-" Sanji started, but broke off. Leaning heavily against the door frame, pale and sweaty, was Zoro. His hands were gripped around the side of the door frame, using all, of what little, strength he had to keep himself upright.

"Zoro!" Chopper cried franticly, eyes wide, "Wha-what are you doing here, out of bed? How did you even manage to get here?"

The swordsman panted, his vision swimming as his fever rose. Pushing himself off his support, he attempted to walk, actually making it a couple of paces into the room before his legs gave way and he fell. A pair of arms caught him, preventing him from crashing face first into the hard, wooden floor. Managing to glance, he noticed the sleeves were black and cuffed. It was Sanji.

"Oi, I don't think you should be moving right now." The cook advised, his brow furrowing with worry. Zoro's whole body then shook, racking with coughs that sounded like they would break his ribs, eventually leading to him gagging out the remnants of his last meal. Even Sanji winced at the sound. As the coughs finally subsided, Zoro pushed himself out of the cook's hold, falling to the ground.

"Oi-"

Slowly and shakily, Zoro lifted his thin frame enough so he was being held up by his arms, his fists planted firmly in the ground. His lower half soon followed so he was sitting on his feet.

"Zoro, what are-" Nami started, but Usopp put a hand on her shoulder and she stopped talking.

"I-I..." he slowly rasped out. "I...I'm...s-" A wave of pain washed through him and he need to pause in order to bear it without crying out in agony.

"I'm sorry!" He finally choked out, his throat dry from lack of use, water, and too much throwing up. Slowly, he managed to sit back on his heels, his arms resting at his side. "I-I wasn't a-able to control myself. I tried t-to kill alla you..."

His voice quieted and he lowered his gaze. Silently, Luffy stood up from his chair and walked over to Zoro. His knees bent and he crouched down in front of him. Reaching up, he placed a hand on his hat, removing it from the top of his head, and placed over Zoro's. Then, he hugged him.

"Zoro, you idiot." He whispered in his first mate's ear, closing his eyes as a tear fought its way through his eyelid. "No of us care any more. We never did. Get over it so you can get better. You're making us worry." Zoro just sat there, partially still stunned, not sure on what he should do. He wasn't given much time to think though, as Nami and Chopper followed Luffy. The little reindeer did his best to wrap his arms around him, and Nami sat down next to Zoro and leaned against him. This was unusual contact for the swordsman, and he started to feel kind of awkward.

Nami seemed to sense his discomfort, and asked, "What's wrong, Zoro?"

"Hugging...it's...weird."

She raised an eyebrow, "Weird? Why? How often are you hugged, Zoro?"

The swordsman didn't answer for a moment, looking of to where nobody resided. "I've never been..."

* * *

**Sorry, short chapter again. Some day I want to try to get longer chapter, but it would take longer to update. So, which do you prefer: Short chapters more often, or longer chapters over a longer period of time(I'm not sure how long)? There was no ZoLu intended in this chapter, but if you really like the pairing I guess you could perceive it that way..but it's just nakamaship.**

**Okay! This chapter's poll! I wanted to see what was most common in FanFictioneer's, so I wanted to find out. If you feel uncomfortable sharing this information, you don't have to, but please be truthful!: What is your gender? And what's your age?**


	10. Half of a Truth

**Woah! After about a day, I received like, 12 reviews XD You all rock! It totally makes me feel happy! Hope I don't disappoint! Oh, and a special thanks to those of you who review almost everytime: MewPirate, GoddesOfWrath, Riku-Aura777, dark-and-deadly, oONatsuOo, waver-chan, Kitematsu :) Oh, and imagine the young Zoro from Movie 5 if you happen to think of him. He kinda fits better. I was gonna update this before I went out of town for a few days, but unfortunately I didn't finish in time.**

Poll Results!:

Female: 100

Male: 0

14: 25

15: 25

16: 25

17: 12.5

19: 12.5

* * *

Zoro's comment practically snapped Nami's heart in half. _I've never been_... It rang in her ears just as if he had shouted it. Is that why Zoro was always so cold? He'd never been hugged? Did that imply love too, or was it just an absence of the contact?

"Zoro," she asked softly, "Why not?"

He shrugged, weakly,"No one cared that much, I guess..."

Luffy pulled his head back and cocked it to the side, "But I hug you all the time?"

"You glomp me."

"Oh."

"Didn't your mom ever hug you?" asked Usopp from his place at the table, and Zoro turned his dark eyes to him.

"My mother never had an time to, and my father thought it would make me weak. Discipline; that was the way to raise a child. To raise worthless shit." His body shook and coughed some more

"Zoro..." Nami murmured, but Zoro's expression changed. It became darker, and his voice was harsher. Turning towards her, his dark, shrunken eyes burned into hers, and he gruffly demanded,

"I don't want your pity."

Chopper sobbed into his shoulder even more, soaking Zoro to the skin, but then he lost his grip and fell off.

"Oi, Cook," Zoro rasped, holding his hand out. "Help me up."

Sanji gave a snort, but held his hand out anyway, and pulled him up, "You're not walking back there like that though, so don't even try." And he took Zoro's arm and slung it around his neck. Together they slowly stepped towards the galley door, and before they reached it, Zoro turned around and took off Luffy's hat, practically screwing it down onto his captain's head. Smiling, he turned back and heading out the door, stumbling all the way back to the medical bay.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Usopp, Nami, Luffy, and Chopper shuffled out of the galley after they put their plates away, and embraced the heating sun. Sanji emerged from the opposite side, quietly closing the door behind him, and sauntered over to Nami while Usopp and Luffy ran over to the figure head.

"How's Zoro?" asked Nami.

"He fell asleep as soon as he laid down." came the reply, and he took his old cigarette out and tossed it into the ocean. "We need to get to an island soon. We didn't have much time to stock up last time, and we're out of any sort of alcohol, practically out of meat, and we're running low on our dry goods."

Nami ran a hand through her shiny, red/orange hair and sighed. The incident with Zoro had made them forget all about getting food, and they had left as soon as they had gotten back to their ship. The news saddened her. It was hard to survive on such little food when Luffy was around. She mentally noted that they _had _to get looks for their food storage, so some rubber captain won't come and "sleep eat" it.

Next to her, Chopper had been thinking quietly, but now spoke up. "Can you two help me search the men's quarters?"

Nami and Sanji both looked curiously at their little doctor.

"What on earth for, Chopper?" questioned Nami, totally baffled.

"Well, I was thinking that Zoro's condition might be from an infection or something, and there could be clues."

Sanji shrugged. He guessed it was a good enough reason, and he didn't have anything to do at the current moment since everyone had just eaten, so he followed Chopper and Nami down the ladder to where they slept.

The trio set to work, opening crates, looking in cracks and hammocks, and examining dust.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Above them, Luffy and Usopp were trying to make a get well card for Zoro. Tape, paper, ink and glue had been found in a box in the storage room, and they decided to make some good out of it. Scissors proved to be not the right thing for Luffy to handle, and to the marksman left Luffy in charge of gluing or taping the respective pieces to their main paper.

"Usopp," complained Luffy, using his childish whine, "Gimmie the scissors."

"Oh no," exclaimed Usopp, holding them higher in the air, though he knew Luffy could just stretch and grab them, "You're gonna cut somebody's nose off!"

"Ne, that would probably be yours," retorted Luffy, forgetting about his rubber powers and jumped up to try and grab the scissors.

"Oi, oi. I got my nose from my mother!"

"..."

"...That did sound a bit weird." They both sat in silence for a moment, hoping the awkward silence would go away.

Luffy glanced at Usopp through comically narrowed eyes, "Gimmie the scissors."

"No."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Sanji opened the chest that was next to the couch and pulled out a wooden box, various designs carved in it. His attempt to open it was a failure, and he realized that there was a lock that was missing its key.

"Oi!" he called to the other two and held up the box, pointing out the lock. "Try to find a key."

They glanced at it and nodded, while Sanji rummaged through the contents of the chest, also searching for it. A moment later however, Chopper called for his attention. Turning towards him, Sanji saw that the little reindeer was holding up a little silver key that he'd found in a crack in the wood.

"See if this fits." And Chopper handed it to Sanji. Placing it in the lock, he turned the key and heard an appreciative 'click' and the lock popped open.

"What's in it?" asked Nami, walking around so she could get a better view of the contents of the mini chest, "Money?" and Sanji and Chopper could have sworn that her eyes turned into belli.

Sanji pulled out a small purple pouch and a bottle of a translucent green liquid. By yanking on one of the pouches strings, it opened and a bunch of white pills spilled onto Sanji's hand.

"What the hell?" He glanced back down at the box and saw a bunch of unused, or used; he couldn't tell, syringes. "Is Marimo a druggy?"

Chopper picked up one of the pills and expected it closely. "No, I don't think so. This looks like... medicine? Antibiotics, I think."

"Zoro's been taking some sort of medicine for something and we've never noticed?" Nami scratched her head. "What's it for?"

"That's what I'm not sure of. I'll see if there's any sort of mention of it in one of my books, but maybe we can get Zoro to say something."

"If Zoro's been taking this though, then why is he sick?" demanded Sanji, confused.

"Maybe he stopped taking it?" suggested Nami.

"I don't think he stopped taking it by his own choice."

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't know. I just think that Zoro would take it as often as he should if it was really important. I mean, Zoro doesn't really care about his injuries and stuff, but he knows it won't kill him. If he's so determined to become the world's greatest swordsman, he wouldn't want to off himself so quickly." Chopper responded, scratching his chin. "What if he became sick with something else, then was unable to take his meds for his current condition and so the symptoms for that emerged as well?

Sanji also rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "That makes sense, but then what's the new thing?"

"I won't be able to figure out that unless I know what used to be killing him."

"Well, then let's go talk to Zoro." Suggested Nami, and jabbed her thumb in the direction of the hatch to the deck above them. The other two nodded and scrambled up the wodden ladder; Sanji in the lead, followed by Nami and Chopper. He banged open the horizontal door and climbed up to meet the burning sun above them.

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**That's my longest chapter! I feel so accomplished! Okay! This chapters poll-like thing! First, I wanna see if you can **_guess my gender and age_**, and _what _**_arc do you think Zoro is best drawn in?_** Y'know, how Zoro's appearance changes slightly as time goes?**

**I finally have my diagnosis! Yay! It took me a while with research and all, but I feel so accomplished that I figured it out! I can't wait 'till I see how you react. I hope you don't think it's crappy... But you'll have to wait 'till next time! Well, you know the drill! Review and tell me what you think! The Ticking Time Bomb is coming to a close! Lame title...  
**


	11. The Proposition

_Edit: So sorry for the really long wait!! To make up for it, I made a longer chapter! I hope you like it!  
_

**Thanks for all your kind reviews! They make me so happy!**

**Okay, well: Everyone, 'cept one, thought I was female. And I am! No one guessed my age correctly, though : ) There have been different guesses:**

_19  
14-15  
15  
16-17  
14-16  
15-16  
14-16  
20  
15_

**The verdict is...**

_**I'm 13! I think it's funny how old you think I am : )  
**_

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After waiting for Chopper to finish climbing up, they headed towards the door to where Zoro lay; medication in hand. Inside, Zoro was sleeping on the bed, twisting back and forth restlessly.

"Zoro." whispered Nami, but the swordsman didn't wake up.

"Oi, Zoro!" said Sanji, louder, slightly shaking him. With a jolt, Zoro sat up; alarmed. On glance at Sanji, and he jumped in surprise, falling over backwards. He fell off the bed at hit his head against the cabinet behind him. With his eyes rolling into the back of his head, he fell over; unconscious.

All 3 of them just stood there for a moment, as everything had happened so fast.

"Sanji!" cried Nami, angrily, whacking him on the head.

"Zoro!" cried Chopper, running over to the unconscious teenager.

"Nami-san!" cried Sanji, only slightly surprised.

Just as Chopper started checking his eyes and head, Zoro started to stir. He slowly blinked and opened his eyes, gingerly rubbing the back of his head.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Usopp and Luffy rolled across the deck, each tugging on the small pair of green scissors. Luffy managed to pin his opponent down, but then didn't have anymore hands to grab the scissors. Finally realizing this, he attempted to get them with his mouth. Slightly disgusted by the drool falling onto him, Usopp turned his head and held the sharp object as far as he could, practically attempting to stretch. Distracting Luffy with the hand that was holding the scissors, he reached into his bag and pulled out a small red ball. He smashed it against the bridge of Luffy's nose.

The effects were instantaneous: Luffy yanked his head back, his eyes burning, but accidentally shoved his knee into the sharpshooter's groin. Usopp yelped in pain, turning his head towards Luffy, but Luffy, completely distracted by his eyes, was shaking his head, and chomped down on Usopp's nose without realizing it. Usopp let out a strangled cry of pain, trying to push Luffy off him, but he wouldn't budge.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Zoro, are you okay?" asked Nami, helping him back onto the bed.

"Y-ya..." winced Zoro, rubbing the back of his head. "What'd you come in like that for?"

"We need to ask you some questions." declared Chopper, now completely serious. The swordsman looked at their solid expressions in confusion.

"Like what?"

Chopper held out a couple of the pills and syringes, "We need to know what these are for."

A wave of realization washed over Zoro's face. "Oh! Those. Damn, I forgot about those," he grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. Chopper looked at him expectantly.

"Were you sick before, Zoro?"

Zoro looked from Nami, to Sanji, and back at Chopper, and nodded slowly.

"What did you have? Or still have?"

Zoro's eyes narrowed in concentration. "Min...Men...Menig...Menit..." He was having trouble remembering, but Chopper's burning stare didn't help matters much.

"Need me to give you another whack on the head, Marimo?" Zoro glared at Sanji's sarcastic remark.

"I think the first one was enough to knock my brain out of place."

"Or lack there of," smirked Sanji. Zoro looked like he could jump up and strangle him, but Nami held him down.

"Just try to remember," coaxed Chopper.

"It starts with an 'M', I know that for sure," supplied the swordsman,"Hold on, I think I almost have it."

"Idiot-titis." grunted Sanji, and instead of getting a dirty look, Zoro's eyes widened in realization.

"Meningitis!" he exclaimed, pounding his fist into his other hand triumphantly. Compared to Zoro's, though, Chopper had a look of the utmost terror. He cocked his head, "What, Chopper?"

Without a reply, the little doctor grabbed one of the unused syringes, filled it with the liquid in the bottle, and jammed it into Zoro's unsuspecting arm. Zoro reflexively gave a small yelp.

"The hell, Chopper?"

"Why didn't you tell me?!" cried Chopper, furiously, "Why, Zoro?"

Zoro stared at him, shocked. "What do you mean?"

"That you're sick!"

The swordsman looked down, his cheeks slightly reddening,"It was under control."

"That's no excuse!" In his fury, Chopper kicked his little hoof into Zoro's right shin, causing him to grab in it pain. The reindeer quickly clapped his hand over his mouth, completely aghast of what he just did.

"I'm sorry, Zoro!" he cried, comical tears pouring out of his eyes, wrapping a very thick, and very unnecessary bandage around the teenagers leg. Zoro looked down at it, the pain now subsided. It was the stupidest thing he'd ever seen; almost. It stuck out about 3 inches off of his leg, but in only one part of his shin.

"What's meningitis?" Nami asked, directing the question at Chopper.

"Oh, it's _very_ serious." nodded Chopper, folding his arms. "It needs to be treated immediately, but it's a wonder that Zoro didn't die from stopping his intake of medicine."

"'Course I'm not gonna die! I'm not falling 'till I face Mihawk again," said Zoro, stating it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's not gonna help!" squealed Chopper, ready to tell him off, but Sanji butted in.

"So, is this what he's had all this time?"

Chopper folded his arms, thinking. "I don't think so. Not all the symptoms fit."

"Then what is it?" goaded Nami.

Chopper still looked thoughtful,"Well, I think half of it has to do with his preexisting meningitis. He could've gotten something, then didn't get to take his medicine since he was in here. Because he didn't get to take it, the other symptoms started coming out as well."

The other three seemed convinced by this, even though Zoro was hardly paying attention due to his throbbing headache.

"Just figure it out, will you? I can't stand this for much longer." groaned Zoro, flopping onto his back.

Bitting back the urge to scream at him, to tell him he was trying, Chopper kept his voice calm as he suggested, "I was thinking about having Zoro take his required medicine, and then see what symptoms he still has so we can rule out different things."

"What if that doesn't work, though? What if he gets even worse?" asked Nami, voicing her opinion about the crazy stunt.

"I'll do it."

Sanji and Nami turned to him in shock. "Surely you can't decide that fast?"

"Surely I can." he shot back, "If I can't survive a couple more days, I won't be able to live through anything. It's a risk I'm willing to take. I mean, how bad can it get?"

Nami shook her head, "Stupid..." she mumbled to herself, "Stupid..."

"Alright," agreed Chopper. His voice was confident, but his eyes only showed how unsure he was. "Take however much you need, and we'll hope you survive until morning."

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**There we go! Please, please review! Knowing that people really wanted to read this completely helped me make this chapter my longest! It may not be as long as you would want it to be, but I tried my best! I didn't want to keep people waiting for too long.**

**As for the poll, some people liked how Zoro looked in the beginning, especially when he was hanging on that pole thing at the marine base. Others liked him during the Arabasta Arc, where they started to become a little different. Same with Skypiea. Personally, I like how he was animated during the Enies Lobby Arc, and how he's drawn out at the current moment in the manga; TB and up--**

_Anyway, I've had a lack of thought for a poll... So I'm asking you who you think are great authors for One Piece, and no, I'm not doing this for you to say me. I don't consider myself one of the great authors on FanFiction. I'm working towards it though, but I've still got a long road in front of me. Also, I'm considering a change in title, and a redo of the first couple chapters. What do you think?  
_

Please Review!! I know who reviewed other times, so I'll know who didn't bother to do it this time.


	12. Don't You Move

**I'm so sorry! I know you all want to cut me up into small little pieces and burn them, please refrain from doing so! Otherwise, you won't get anymore chapters... It's just that I've been scared, you could say, on everyones' reactions to finding out what Zoro's problem was, because I wanted it to be really realistic in the medical sense (the diagnosis, at least), but it's so boring...I just... I couldn't face you. **

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Just moments after they finalized the idea to wait and see what would happen to Zoro in the next couple days, the door to Chopper's office swung open and Luffy and Usopp charged inside. They skidded to a halt about a foot away from where Zoro sat. Usopp looked disheveled and Luffy had bits of paper stuck to his face, but they were both grinning form ear to ear. The others only stared, but Zoro broke the awkward silence.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Usopp and Luffy exchanged grinning glances and promptly pulled out two pieces of brightly colored paper that they had apparently concealed under their shirts. Zoro mentally winced at the feeling. They proudly held them out in front, for Zoro to see. Once they were given a second look, Zoro realized that they were cards. Usopp's was wonderfully designed, with photorealistic drawings of Zoro and the crew, and read "Get well soon!", while Luffy's.... well, Zoro decided that it was the thought that counted. He smiled, and the two practically shone with glee. Luffy shoved his card into Zoro's hands, and Usopp copied him.

Luffy stretched his hands behind Zoro, wrapping them around and around. Chopper gave a squeal of anger.

"Luffy! He needs to rest!" he cried, trying to release Zoro from the bone-breaking hug. The captain pouted like a five year old, but let his arms unwind.

Zoro gave a chuckle, rubbing his ribs, "I'm not that breakable, Chopper. Can't I get out a bit? I need air."

"Eh? But Zoro! You practically worked yourself unconscious a second ago!"

He waved the comment off, "Chopper, no I didn't. Besides, that was 5 minutes ago. Things have changed."

Nami resisted the temptation to grind his head into the floor. "Zoro." she said, eyes closed in frustration, "Things have not changed. You fell asleep for one minute. That couldn't have made much, if any, difference!"

"Oi, I think I know myself much better than you, witch."

Now it was Sanji's turn to get angry, "Don't you talk to her like that, Marimo, or I'll smash your face into the floor!"

It was almost like some sort of chain reaction was going on inside of the room.

"Oh, no you don't!" exclaimed Usopp, "If you do that, I'm going to be the one who has to fix it, and I have enough repairs to do on Merry as it is!"

"Yeah!" cried Luffy, grabbing his hat for no reason in particular, "Don't hurt Merry!"

They all starting bickering at once, some still on the same subject that they had been on before, and some were pulled into the most ridiculous of arguments.  
Zoro's eyebrow twitched. The yelling was making his head pound.

"Just SHUT UP!" he bellowed over the commotion, and startled, and slightly scared, everyone immediately grew quiet. For a moment, the room was so silent, you couldn't heard a pin drop. It became more awkward every second, so Zoro merely said, "Thank you", about 3 times quieter and calming than a few seconds ago.

He sighed, blowing out the air noisily. "Geez, you were making my head spin."

Chopper, being the overprotective doctor that he was, immediately sniped at everyone that they should shut up, though everyone already was.  
Zoro stood up, despite the warnings and pleas from some of his fellow crew members. Not feeling quite as terrible as he did a couple minutes ago, he commented, "See? Fine. Like always."

Deep inside, though, he totally had the urge to empty his stomach onto Nami's bright orange sandals, but he'd puked up all he had in the kitchen, only moments before, but that wasn't even much. He held his breath for a moment, and the sick feeling finally left him.

"Okay," he said, with determination, "I'm going to go outside, and no one will stop me." And he stalked out before anyone could say or do anything.

A blast of fresh, cool air hit him in the face, and he closed his eyes, savoring the feeling. He'd been stuck inside Chopper's sick bay for so long, he had been desperate to get out. At the current moment, he completely didn't care that he was sick, and that no one know what was wrong. He felt alive, and to him, it was one of the best things in the world. And he stood there, for what seemed like forever, but he moment was actually short-lived when the door behind him banged open.

"Zoro!" It was the witch. "What do you think you're doing? You're still not well! And Chopper doesn't want you wandering around. Who knows what'll happen if no ones watching you! What if you fall down at hit your head? What if you have another seizure? What if you forget where you are? What if-"

By the time she had started talking about Chopper not wanting him to walk around, he had zoned out and started to watch a particularly interesting cloud move across the sun. Unfortunately, she had to roughly bring him back to earth once again. This time by smacking him as hard as she could in the head.

* * *

**Sorry! Totally lame-o ending. I still haven't finished, but I wanted to update something so here you go. Our school gave the 8th graders laptops, and so I might be able to work on stuff more, but also I have a lot of homework... I'll do what I can, okay?**

**Poll results: (I didn't include myself)  
**

**AstroKender: 2 (I LOVE AstroKender!!! All-time FAV)**

**SkieLoon: 1**

**Colhan30: 1**

**TreeStar: 3**

**Clarobell: 1**

**Hanzatsu-Hime: 1 (I love her ZoNa fics)**

**Someone said me, and that was very kind ^_^ But I don't think I should be put on the tops yet.  
**

**And there we have that! The next poll is mostly a thing for me. My friend(Vorstellen)and I are doing a collab. fic. It's a DBZ crossover with One Piece. It just has Goku and Vegeta, but all the crew from One Piece up to Robin. She's an AMAZING writer, so it'll be cool. We're gonna try to get pretty far before updating, so you don't have to wait forever, like with this one. Well, the question is, would you be interested, or read it?**

**I don't actually like this chapter; I think my sentences are too blunt and immature. Sorry.  
**

Oh, and sorry ekp95m. You were pissed at me before for not updating, so you'll probably blow your top, but sorry!! Please review, people!~ Let's see if we can break our record of 17 for one chapter, shall we? I'll try even HARDER to update soon if you do~


	13. How in the World

**Oh. My. God. **

**Flippin' quickest update for me EVER. I feel proud of myself. Go Apple and their laptops. I could have actually made this chapter longer, but I couldn't help myself. I needed to update. Okay, and well... Like, almost no one responded to my question last chapter, so okay...**

**~~//POLL\\~~**

**_Where are you in the One Piece storyline? _*(don't worry, you can't spoil anything for me)**

**

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**

The dull thud of Nami's hand resonated through his head, and he grabbed it to stop the ringing. She immediately clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Oh! Zoro! I'm so sorry! It was just kind of involuntary; it just kind of slipped; it-"

He put one of his hands on her shoulder, "I'm fine, Nami." And he walked over to the side of the ship. Placing a hand on the railing, he lowered himself down onto the deck. Placing his hands comfortably behind him, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes.

Moments after, the galley door opened again, and the rest filed out.

"Eh? Where's Zoro?" asked Chopper, glancing up and Nami. Rolling her eyes, she pointing a thumb over her shoulder in his direction. Sanji snorted.

"He finally gets out for some air, and that's the first thing he does."

Chopper sighed, "At least he's resting."

They heard bunch of consecutive soft thuds, and turned towards the noise, to see Luffy, rapidly bouncing with anticipation.

"Luffy, what the hell are you doing?" Nami snapped with annoyance.

He cocked his head to one side, "Am I doing something?"

"Luffy, you're bouncing." stated Usopp, pointedly.

His head bent farther.

"Eh? No I'm not."

They groaned in unison, and Nami seized his rubber head yanked it down to look at his feet, "What do you call that, then, Luffy?"

His eyes bulged and his jaw dropped, "I'm bouncing!"

The crew all sweat-dropped at once, replying as one: "No shit, Luffy."

"But why are you bouncing?" asked Chopper innocently.

He scratched his head in thought, "I must be hungry."

Nami and Sanji both groaned.

"Luffy, if you're hungry, just tell me."  
"Oh. Okay. SANJI! I. Am. Hungry!" he yelled with fervor. The crew all shushed him at once, glancing over to make sure that Zoro was still sleeping; and indeed, he was. Chopper breathed a sigh of relief; but it, like a lot of things that were happening, it was short lived.

Zoro gave a snort, jerked, and sprang to his feet.

"Where the hell are my swords?!"

It surprised Chopper and Usopp so badly, they dove behind Sanji. Zoro approached them, hand out.

"Where'd you put them?"

Trying to be brave, Chopper emerged from behind his shield; now in Heavy Point, "Zoro," he said, slowly, "It's for your own good."

"Where. The hell. Are they?" he repeated, not bothering to hide the malice in his voice.

"No place that you need to know of." countered Nami, crossing her arms with a glare. "You know that you need to be resting, and if you have your swords, you'll just start training again."

"If you understood the importance of my katana, you would need them too."

They still shook their heads.

"I will rip apart this whole entire ship to find them, if I have to!" then, controlling his temper, he resolved: Fine. I'll make a compromise with you. Just give me my swords, and I won't train."

Nami didn't believe him, but Luffy nodded.

"I trust Zoro enough to believe that he will keep his word on this, Nami." he insisted seriously, "Give him his swords. If they give him comfort when they're with him, why not? I wouldn't like it if I didn't have my hat."

She sighed, knowing that she couldn't really disagree, "Alright, alright." Nami answered, "But if I catch you doing anything stressful, there will be consequences."

Zoro resisted the temptation. Her threat was in no-way imposing. He couldn't think of anything that he would actually care about. The threat probably just included a hard whack somewhere, and while it was painful, he'd faced worse. Instead, he resolved to letting out a little grin, hoping she would just take it as happiness for getting his katana back.

"Great." he replied, hand still out expectantly, "So... can I have them now?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

An explosion went off on in the crow's nest. The explosion's name was Luffy.

"I see an island! I. See. An Island!" He bellowed, repeating it over and over again. He'd been repeating it ever since he had spotted it with his small pair of binoculars. At first, everyone had been happy, not as happy as the adventurous Luffy, but glad that they could do a real stock-up. After the 14th time however, Nami had shrieked in his ear to "Shut the fuck up!"

Her yelling had rudely awoken Zoro from his sleep on the deck, causing two crew members to be cranky. But like always, the bad mood was contagious, and soon the ship was full of short-tempered people.

"Why does Zoro get more than me?" complained Usopp, when they all situated for dinner.

"Are you sick, Usopp?" Sanji snapped back, "It's for health reasons. Chopper wants Marimo to take in more nutrients."

"Couldn't you have made the nutrients look good?" Zoro mumbled. He poked the eggplant with his chopsticks distastefully.

"Eat it, Marimo. It's tastes fine. Nothing I cook is ever gross."

"Yeah, Zoro, I don't see what the big deal is. It's delicious!" said Luffy through a mouthful of his serving.

Zoro snorted, "And we can trust Luffy's judgement on food so well because...?

Sanji's eyebrow twitched, and he roughly kicked Zoro in the shin from underneath the table, "Just eat it, shit-for-brains, or I'll shove it down your throat."

Zoro swore loudly, but didn't say much more, but mostly because he was too hungry to keep complaining. He shoved a chunk into his mouth and swallowed. The eggplant, just because it was eggplant, was disgusting, but everything else the cook had put under their noses was over-the-top delicious; not that he would ever tell.

Suddenly he stopped, chopsticks and fish two-thirds of the way to his mouth. He glanced around, looking at each of his nakama in turn, and then down at his food. Noticing the change in behavior, Nami looked up.

"Is something wrong, Zoro?" The rest of the crew turned to look at him, too, some with expressions of slight worry, others with curiosity.  
He spoke slowly, slightly unsurely, "I...don't know."

"What do you mean?" questioned Chopper, staring at him the hardest.

He looked up, bewilderment etched all over his face, "I remember waking up from my nap, but..."

They leaned in farther.

"I... I can't remember how I got here."

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**Remember- R_EVIEW_ please!! Not too many people bothered to last time... But for the people who did, thank you! You helped me update 'cause I wanted you to read it! It was total inspiration this time. ^_^ Now do it again.**

**Oh, and I'm trying to kinda revise some chapters, and so far, I've done the first one, so if you think they sound even just a ****_little_ bit better, I would like feedback on that.**


	14. Take a Different Path

**Ah! FINALLY, I updated! I'm so sorry I took so long! I wasn't able to write this one very well. I'm not very proud of it. When am I? Anyway, as a special treat, I made a longer chapter! It's almost double what they normally are. I hope you like it! The chapter has more humor in it than I'd like, but it just flowed out, and it would be short otherwise. I hope it doesn't sound dumb. I'm not a comedy writer 'cause I suck with dialogue. I leave that to aznillusion183, who is awesome! Go read her stuff.**

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"I...I don't remember how I got here."

Luffy vaulted over the table towards him. Grabbing his collar, he yelled, "Zoro! Try to remember! You're on Merry!" Luffy was worried about him, he didn't really mind that, but it seemed the his captain didn't exactly grasp what he was saying.

Zoro took a hold of the back of Luffy's shirt and yanked him off. "Shove off! I can remember where I am. I just can't remember how I got here; from my nap to the galley. There's just... nothing in between."

Face filled with worry, Chopper jumped down from his seat and hurried over to where Zoro sat, pulling out a penlight from his bag. He clicked it on and shone it Zoro's eyes. Zoro turned away quickly, shielding himself from the bright light.

"Your eyes are responsive. I'm not sure what to say right now. Black-outs tend to be neurological, so I hope whatever's wrong isn't messing with your brain." He put a hoof to his chin in thought. "Well, if it happens again, tell me. I don't want it to get too serious. I wish there would be some way that I could see what's going on inside of you."

Zoro quickly wrapped his arms around his chest, looking almost as rubbery as Luffy"Oh, no. You are not cutting me open." Chopper looked equally horrified.

"No! Never!"

He let go of himself in relief.

"Are we still going to just wait, then? To see what doesn't improve?" asked Sanji, giving Nami a helping of the fish, getting a half-hearted nod in response.

"It's a pretty bad diagnostic test, but I just can't think of anything else to do. I've got an idea of some medicines that we can get to help Zoro with more of his serious symptoms once we reach the town, however." He turned towards Zoro, "It's not a cure, but they'll make you feel better."

"Speaking of which," put in Usopp, "Who's watching the wheel?"

They all scrambled to their feet, all yelling things at once. "Who was supposed to be in the crow's nest?"

"There was supposed to be someone in the crow's nest?"

"How far away are we now?"

"Are we still on course?"

"What if we crash?"  
"What would we crash into?"

"'Usopp! My fish!"

The noise stopped, and everyone looked at Luffy. He looked back; and then pouted.

"Usopp knocked my plate over. My food's on the ground now..."

Am awkward silence hung in the air.

"Eat it off the ground, Luffy." suggested Zoro.

Nami pulled a face, "Gross!"

"What?" he shot back, "He would!"

Nami rolled her eyes and knocked him lightly on the head, as if searching for a brain,, "Luffy's at least smart enough to not-" She glanced a Luffy, who's tongue was almost at the ground. She turned away quickly. "Oh, god. What kind of captain do I have?"

Sanji shook his head, "At least he's not wasting food, but you don't have to do that, Luffy. I have more. But seriously. We should check how far we are."

They nodded and filed out. Once they turned around to look at the front of the ship, they all stared in confusion.

"Where's the island?" cried Usopp, snapping his goggles down onto his face.

"It was here just a second ago!" put in Sanji, squinting at the empty ocean; as if by concentration alone he could make it appear.

Suddenly Zoro burst out laughing, holding onto the railing just in case his legs gave way. They all stared as if he was crazy.

"What's your problem, Zoro?!" Nami snapped back, her eyes threatening him to laugh at her more. Unfortunately, he was laughing too hard to stop.

"It's right there." And he pointed right in front of him. They all turned to the side instead of the front, and sure enough, the island was right there, in plain view for all to see.

"What the-" spluttered Nami, waving her arms, "How did no one see that?!"

Sanji buried his face in his hand; pride hurt.

With a huff, she pulled glanced down at the log pose that was strapped to her wrist.

"Eh?!" Everyone turned to her, and Zoro stopped laughing. Her brow furrowed in confusion and she glanced up at the island, and then back down. "It don't think it's the same island."

Usopp scowled, "How could it not be? We could see it a few hours ago."

"It's a mystery island!" exclaimed Luffy proudly, pounding his fist into his other hand. Only because they did it too many times in one day, nobody tried to pound their head into the nearest solid object.

"The needle is pointing away from the island, not at it." This was true. The double-colored suspended needle was indeed not pointing to the island closest to them.

"Does anybody feel anything strange?" Usopp asked, scratching his head.

Nami looked up at the sky, undoubtedly looking at the clouds. "There's a breeze," she murmured, almost to herself.

Suddenly, the ship jerked to the side, causing everyone to stumble. Zoro, who was already off balance, fell. He hit his head on the railing with a painful thud.

"Ah, Zoro! Are you okay?" Chopper rushed to his side, closely watched by everyone else. Zoro's eyes were closed, and apparently unconscious. The little doctor put his hoof to the back of the swordsman's head, and felt a little trickle of blood. "He's got a concussion," he said sadly, answering their unasked questions. He grew into his larger form, and lifted up the limp figure of Zoro.

"I'll wrap his head, and keep in the medicine bay until he wakes up." He gestured at Sanji, " I need you to come with me. Someone needs to watch him until he wakes up, just in case there are some complications."

Sanji nodded and followed him into the medicine bay.

After they had gone through the door, Sanji said, "This must really be affecting him. A small bump on the head has never been more than a 2 second inconvenience."

Chopper sighed, "I know. The sooner we get to the island, the better."

As if on cue, Nami burst into the room, "We're getting pulled towards it!"

"To what?"

"The island! There's a massive current surrounding the island. I can't believe that this wasn't on my maps! Honestly..."

"Can't we just row ourselves out?" interrogated Sanji.  
Nami glanced down at the unconscious Zoro, "He accounts from basically half our strength. You've got no arm muscles, Chopper's the only one who can go big like that, and Luffy has more of the spur of the moment You-Hurt-My-Nakama kind of strength."

Scowling slightly at inadvertently being called weak, Sanji puffed out on his cigarette in defeat, "We'll just have to stop at this one, I guess."

Nami gave a little uncaring shrug, "It shouldn't matter too much. Actually, I think it's better. This way, we can stock up quicker, and Chopper can get the things he needs for Zoro."

Chopper's eyes sparkled, "Yeah!"

With a little wave, Nami headed for the door, "I need to stay out side to watch the ocean. The jerk from before was Merry getting caught in a strong current, and I want to make sure something like that doesn't happen again; or at least we can be prepared for it."

With that, she exited the room, leaving Sanji and Chopper alone.

"So, am I allowed on this island?"

Sanji and Chopper both jumped a mile in the air. They had completely forgotten that Zoro was in the room with them; much less notice that he was awake.

"Zoro!" Chopper exclaimed, clutching his small chest in surprise.

"You're supposed to still be asleep, bastard."

"Shut up, ero-cook."

"What's that, Marimo?"

"You heard me, dartboard-brow."

"You wanna fight?!"

"Sanji!" Shut the-"

The obscenities that flowed out of Chopper's mouth were jaw dropping; Zoro and Sanji's were practically on the floor. After realizing what he had said, Chopper covered his mouth in horror.

"Holy hell, Chopper." croaked Sanji, "Where did you learn all that?"

Chopper pulled his pink hat down over his face, embarrassed. Zoro snickered.

"Chopper went to a bar," he grinned, matter-of-factly.

Chopper turned on him, "Urusei! Lay back down, anyway! You're not supposed to be up this quickly. I didn't even get a chance to bandage your head."

Zoro scowled stubbornly, "Meh. A bump like that isn't going to keep me down."

Zoro had to scoot back a foot to avoid a black shoe colliding with his face. Before he got to ask the cook what the hell he was doing, Sanji snapped.

"Forget the damn pride, already. If Chopper says you shouldn't move, you shouldn't move. He's the doctor here, not you."

"Yeah, but I'm stron-"

"Forget the damn strength, then! You're sick, goddamn it! Sometimes, you have to let it go. Too many times out of a week do we have to see you practically dead. For once, can't we just avoid that?!"

Zoro remained silent, grudgingly taking in the cook's words. He gritted his teeth, before growling, "Fine." And then added, "But I'm not doing this for you."

Sanji just gave a little puff on his cigarette. Though he could've sworn that he heard someone mumble, "It's for someone else," but of course, Zoro would never say that.

Zoro lay back down onto the bed and waited for Chopper to unwrap a roll of bandages. Wincing as the white cloth was wrapped around his head. he tried to suppress the odd shaking his was getting in his left hand. After a small pat on his shoulder from Chopper, signaling that he could sit up, he felt it again. He growled mentally.

Sanji let out a small, satisfied "che." Before heading for the door. Just as he reached the handle, he heard a small crash behind him. The cook whirled around. Zoro was jerking and twitching on the ground, just like he had done on the day he was first sick. His long legs propelled him forward in an attempt to help Chopper.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The galley door creaked open, and Luffy, Nami, and Usopp's head turned consecutively. Chopper walked in, closely followed by Sanji, looking downcast. Worry immediately was placed on all their faces.

"What's wrong?" asked Nami seriously.

The little doctor looked up at her with big, sad eyes.

"His fever is back."

* * *

**!! PLEASE REVIEW!! All your reviews last time made me SOOOO HAPPY!! I think you should do it again! AND, I think everyone here should go and poke AstroKender and Pamplemoose to update their fanfictions, because they haven't! And if you haven't updated a fic of yours, shame on you! Oh, and about the whole "doing it for someone else," that's kinda in the poll.  
**

**ANYWAY!**

**A poll! I like polls. They're fun.  
**

_What amazing Zoro-angst/hurt type fics have you read (I love reading more :) )_

_Should I add a pairing (a light one) into the story, and if so, which one? I've got my eye on one that I'd like if people to want a pairing, but I also want to know what other people think.  
_


	15. A Promise Made

**Hey all! THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS!! I feel loved!! XD Anyway, this is a short chapter, but I wanted to update. We're gonna be starting our research papers at school, but it's a really big thing that we can only get an A on if we work our asses off, so I can't guarantee any updates. We have to do it in steps, but it's like a 7 week thing. So take this. Read it an enjoy it, and just make sure you are aware that another chapter might not come for a while, but don't worry, there WILL be a chapter. Some day.**

**I guess you could say this is SLIGHTLY ZoNa-ish. I don't want to make people angry by putting in too much romance or anything. Please don't shoot me. And you don't even half to see it as romance. It could be Nakamaship. It won't be mushy at all. Promise.  
**

* * *

Nami's head fell down on the table with a thud, "Will he stop being so sick?" she groaned.

"I thought he was gonna get better?" Usopp's nose twitched in confusion.

Chopper shook his head, "No. I solved one problem, but I can only help to sooth the symptoms until I know the diagnosis.

Sanji poured himself a glass of water and sat down at the table next to the navigator with a sigh. After downing almost the whole thing in one go, he said, "If this is from one of his untreated wounds, I am _so_ telling him "I told you so."

Usopp suppressed a snort.

"How long is it going to take for us to get to the island?" asked Luffy seriously.

"At the rate we're going," replied Nami, "I'd probably say a couple hours to half the day."

The conversation dwindled on the topic of Zoro for a few more minutes before Nami stood up.

"I'm just gonna check up on Zoro."

Chopper smiled and this, and gave Nami a thankful nod, "That would be great."

She left through the open galley door, and headed down the steps to the main deck. On her way over to the sick bay, she glanced over at the oncoming island. She couldn't explain it, but she felt that there was a great deal of hope there. Nami tore her eyes from the clear scene, and pushed her way through the door ahead of her.

Inside, Zoro lay asleep on the bed. A wet cloth lay on his forehead, and she could see how uneven his breathing was. She approached him slowly and quietly, not wanting to disturb his sleep. She lowered herself into the chair next to him, and gently lifted the cloth off of his forehead and replaced it with a fresher one.

Zoro snorted quietly, and she froze. After she was sure that he was still out of it, she breathed again. Even with his obvious uneasiness, there was something oddly serene about his features. Maybe it was the calm look on his eyes...

Zoro slowly opened an eye, "Hey."

"Hey," she smiled back.

"Stuck here again?" he asked, touching the towel on his forehead.

"Afraid so."

He groaned.

"How do you feel?" she asked him softly.

"Like a piece of shit."

She couldn't help it; she laughed. Zoro shot her an eyebrow, but then joined in on the laughter. They didn't know why they were laughing. Maybe it was because of all the depressing feelings they had to keep bottled up the past few days. Their stress was slowly being leaked out as they guffawed together.

"Fuck, quick Nami. Hand me that bucket over there." He had stopped laughing, and was hurriedly indicating to a blue bowl by her chair.

He took it from her gladly and retched; emptying the contents of his stomach into it. She recoiled; grossed out.

"Sorry," he mumbled, and she handed him a napkin to wipe his mouth.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't get any on me."

Then her expression turned serious.

"What's this, Zoro?" Out of her pocket, she pulled the bundle of bills that he had given her. Zoro glanced at the money, and then back at the wall.

"Men don't break their promises."

"Yes they do," she said, and he glanced at her, slightly sadly, but slightly angry, "But you don't."

His expression softened, and the side of his mouth twitched in a half-smile.

"You didn't have to do it like that..." she murmured.

"Yes, yes I did." Zoro said, determined. "I owed you money, so I got you money. Does it matter how I get it?"

She looked at the floor, "Hard, manual labor was not what I had in mind. Neither was ripping open your stomach, or donating blood."

At this, he snorted, "You're acting like I'm weak again. I've got the strength, and the stamina; I don't mind. Besides, I thought of it like more training, y'know? A couple pints of blood isn't going to kill me. 'S nothing. Really."

Nami blanched, "A couple pints? A _couple pints?!" _Zoro was confused. She seemed outraged. "A normal person dies after losing a couple pints!"

Zoro rolled his eyes, "That doctor guy at your hometown said I lost 5 when we were there, so I though, '2-3. No biggie."

"You're a monster."

"So I've been told."

She rested her head on one hand, and looked at him, "Chopper might be considering letting you stretch your legs on the island. Only if you're condition is right, and you don't whine."

"I don't-"

"Mm. Shut up. I would, if I were you. I'd want to be let out early for good behavior."

He scowled, but said no more. Nami got up from the chair and headed for the door, saying, "Though, if you try to throw up on my new shoes again, I might just have to double your debt."

There was a pause.

Just as she headed out the door, she heard an angry cry of "Fuck you, witch!"

She smirked to herself and closed the door behind her.

* * *

**Please review!! It makes me really happy!!**

**I'm a bit scared of telling you Zoro's diagnosis. I'm afraid you might think it's really dumb, so I'm asking you this:**

**_Realistic diagnosis, or non-realistic diagnosis_**

** I don't want people to think it's totally unexciting.  
**


	16. Comfort

**Oh. Um. Hi. Well... Hrm... It's been quite a while, hasn't it. I don't blame you for giving up on me. What's my excuse? Life, School, Band. Not to mention, FF Net hasn't been letting me upload any documents. Still won't actually, had to take a little back road to get this up. Would had this up months ago, otherwise. **

**Well, this is just short and sweet. Just kind of a "Hey, I'm not dead" kind of thing.**

**Another reason I haven't written anything is that I have kind of forgotten what has happened. I _could_ go back and read it, yes, but I don't think that's quite a good idea. The more I read over anything I read, the more I don't like it. The more I don't like it, I want to change it. If I want to change it, that will take me a while and nothing will happen. I get in that "Ugh, I suck" and that's never productive at all.**

**Solution: if one of you COMPLETELY AWESOME PEOPLE wants to help out, I would totally LOVE it if anyone could provide me with a summary of my story, and a list of Zoro's symptoms... I'd be much obliged. God, I'm lazy.**

**You're all amazing for reading this and reviewing! Kudos to crazylatinachick for being a pain in the ass. (**JK! I LOVE YOU GURL).

* * *

Chopper stood at the front of the hull, just to the right of the figure head. His hoofs strained to lift his head higher than the railing, but he managed to get his eyes above the wood. Barely. Maybe he could talk Usopp into making him a footstool. He gazed out onto the ocean, watching the waves roll out in front of them. In the distance, he could see the island.

He couldn't really describe it; the feeling that the place gave him. Everytime he looked, chills ran down his spine and his fur: cold and foreboding. He frowned. He trusted his animal instincts and currently they were telling them that the island bad news.

The creak of the wooden floorboards behind Chopper made him jump. His head whipped around, clenching his fist, ready to face an unknown threat and-

"Nami?" he squeaked, and immediately blushed at the pitch of his voice.

She gave him a weary smile and knelt down to his height. Her normally radiant red hair stuck up in odd places, as if she had been constantly rubbing her hand through it. She probably had been. She sighed and scratched his ear.

"Jumpy?" she asked.

"Lost in thought," he defended, sticking his tongue out childishly.

She watched him, and her smile slowly faded to be replaces with furrowed brows of concern.

"Thinking about Zoro?"

Eyes downcast, he confirmed, "Yeah..."

"Me too."

They shared a knowing look.

"Strange island, huh?" she asked him.

He gave a murmur of agreement.

"You look worried about it."

"No!" he snapped a little to quickly, "Nothing can scare me!"

Her eyes softened at his repeated protests.

"I'm scared, too," she said, and Chopper didn't need to ask to know that she wasn't talking about the mysterious island anymore.

Chopper lifted his warm hazel eyes to meet Nami's. They quickly became glossy with unshed tears. His chin began to wobble, his hooves anxiously rubbed together, and his ears dropped. With a hitch of his breath, he folded into Nami's arms, and she held him easily. His dam broke, and he immediately began to bawl, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Why?" he cried helplessly in Nami's quickly dampening shoulder, "Why is this happening to us? To Zoro? I c-can't handle it! I just don't know what to do..."

The navigator rubbed soothing circles into his quivering back. She hugged him tighter, drawing him closer to her heart.

"I don't know," she replied, "I don't know. But I know for sure that you will never give up, Chopper, because you love Zoro as much as the rest of us. You're the best doctor that we know, and if there's an answer to all this, which there better be or I'll kick Zoro's ass," Chopper let out a small hiccuping chuckle, "you'll find it."

And she kissed the top of his pink hat.

* * *

**Yup. No plot-ness. Just Nakamashipping. Get the gears going.**

**Review!**

**Lots of love!**

**-Santoryuu-Zoro**

**POLL!: Marry/Shag/Throw of a cliff. Yup. That game. Your options: **Zoro, Brooke, Sanji


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